A late goal by Nicolas Virano gave Senglea a stunning win against Birkirkara.

Despite enjoying the lion’s share, Birkirkara were unable to secure the breakthrough against an obdurate Senglea defence. And with five minutes left on normal time, Ivan Paz teed up Virano to score with a swerving shot. The defeat was another bizarre result in Birkirkara’s mixed start to the season.

A neat interception by Mislav Andelkovic helped set up an early opening for the Stripes. He laid the ball into the path of Matthew Guillaumier but the U-21 midfielder’s shot was blocked by Timmy Aquilina, the Senglea goalkeeper.

Lucas was forced off with an injury following a clash with his marker. His substitution appeared to disrupt Birkirkara, allowing Senglea, most notably Rene Caseres to show his skills midway through the first half.

Senglea were denied a lead in the 54th minute by referee Sandro Spiteri when the busy Nicola Palmieri’s goal was not allowed to stand after the Italian striker poked the ball home, standing in an offside position.

Birkirkara were suddenly depriving Senglea time with some biting challenges as they started to win the midfield battle. Guillaumier fizzed a shot incredibly wide and following a sustained period of pressure, Jake Grech had a fine shot which fizzed across the face of the goal.

Senglea were still threatening on set-pieces, Ivan Paz’s free kick found Caseres in the Birkirkara area but the striker could make a decent contact with the ball in front of gaping goal.

Yet Senglea are fast maturing into a team that is capable of challenging the status quo, with the likes of Paz and Nicolas Virano a real menace up front.

The pair combined superbly to set up what proved to be Senglea’s winner, when Paz played the ball in to Virano who coolly slid the past Philip Schranz and into the bottom corner of the net.